Aroma of Love
by Final Hikari
Summary: The trip from Roak to Aeos is long. Reimi and Welch notice Faize acting strangely and see Lymle’s concern for him. They decide to intervene using less than conventional methods, but what will putting an Aroma of Love in their room lead to?
1. Prologue

Final Hikari: -runs into room, out of breath, and locks door- Phew!

Faize: …Dare I ask what's wrong?

Final Hikari: XD I'm hiding from my editor. If she sees I have a tenth consecutive project going, I'm dead.

Faize: …Tenth?

Final Hikari: …Please don't look at me like that. It's just a short story I wrote in my notebook! XD Ten chapters, tops! So… -turns to readers- This is a humor genre short story I got the idea for about to embark of Aeos. Just to ensure nothing strange went on with getting Faize's epilogue, since I'm replaying TLH, I intended to slip an Aroma of Love into their room. My endeavor has yet to be successful, since I'm missing an ingredient. T.T I settled for dosing them both up with lots of Love Potion No. 256 instead. XD

Lymle: …Get to the point, 'kay?

Final Hikari: Oh. Right. XD Ahem! I had an idea for a humor story that involved Faize and Lymle as roommates that I dropped when I started Utopia, then this idea came to me. This short story is a humorous sort of Faize/Lymle fic (friendship, really) that I decided to write when I had writer's block with Utopia. The timeline is after the group departs from Roak to when they arrive on Aeos. It's mainly spoiler free! Now, Faize, the disclaimer.

Faize: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: And my dear editor who shall be pestered with yet another story once you're out of school, don't kill me! XD It's already complete, after all.

Aroma of Love

Prologue

Captain Edge Maverick of the SRF-003 Calnus strolled up the staircase from the Recreation Room into the crew's quarters. The warp was going smoothly and everyone was peaceful; at least as peaceful as the ship could be on long journeys. A more apt adjective would probably be "hectic."

He climbed the final step, passed by Reimi's two named potted plants, and inhaled something sweet. It was a pleasant, relaxing aroma that permeated down the hall. As soon as he inhaled it a second time, his mind began to wonder.

_I wonder if Reimi already took a shower today…she sometimes does when we first get underway. That's a sight I wouldn't mind stealing a glance at…_ He then caught sight of Reimi, fully clothed, peeking into a slight opening between the doors to Cabin Three with a steaming potion in her hand. The smoke it gave off was a pale pink in color. She was hunched over a little, obviously ready to move if someone came. _That's Faize and Lymle's room…_

Unable pass by and let such a peculiar event go uninvestigated, he spoke up.

"Reimi?" he questioned, causing her to jump.

She whipped around, hiding the suspicious object behind her back and smiling nervously. "Good afternoon, Edge! What brings you to this neck of the ship?"

"It's evening… Just what are you up to?" he asked dryly, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?"

She squirmed for a moment under his piercing, expectant gaze and sighed. She'd always come clean with a mere authoritative look; just like when she was five and he was six and she ate the last serving of ice cream.

"Is Faize coming?" she asked, glancing down the hall over Edge's shoulder.

"…No?" he said, though he hadn't been paying much attention to the workaholic Eldarian's whereabouts. Explaining the setup and various functions of the Calnus to Sarah, for her personal safety and the safety of the ship, had been consuming a great deal of his time since they departed from Roak.

"Good," she replied, holding the smoking pink concoction up for him to see. "Myuria and Welch helped me make this before we lifted off. Myuria's really good at making items of this nature, so she has all the recipes memorized."

Edge eyed it warily. "Okay…but what _is_ it?"

"Oh, it's called an Aroma of Love. You put it in a room and it causes the occupants to like each other more, then fall madly in love. Or so the label says…it doesn't work on roommates of the same gender."

Edge blanched at the name. "Aroma of _what?_"

Reimi blushed slightly and glared at him. "Not like that, you pervert! It's just a mild love potion that emits a scent that helps bring people together. Simple and innocent."

"I find that hard to believe," he retorted, recovering instantly. "You mean it manipulates their minds so people care more for each other," he rephrased disapprovingly.

The sweet scent made it hard for him to focus completely. _Actually, that's not a half bad idea. Maybe I can get Myuria to make me some to use on Reimi…_

Reimi sighed tiredly. "Look, it's a _really_ mild version. It'll just speed up the natural process! And frankly, I think they need it; Welch agrees, too. Faize has been acting strangely and Lymle's really worried about him."

"He's been acting odd?" he questioned thoughtlessly.

Reimi shook her head. "Yes, Captain Obvious, and Lymle's too stubborn to admit she's concerned about him. Something must've happened that we don't know about, and-"

"Wait!" Edge interjected, his better judgment returning suddenly. "You can't use a love potion on them! Lymle's only _six!_"

"She's actually fifteen," Reimi corrected, "And I just told you it's a very mild version. Myuria and Welch altered the recipe a bit to ensure that."

"It seemed pretty potent to me!" Edge objected.

Reimi cast him a dark, suspicious look. "And exactly what do you mean by _that?_"

"Uh…well, it sent my mind into the gutter after inhaling the smell when I was walking up the stairs…"

She glared at him, clearly exasperated. "That's not very hard to do. And that's your problem, any halfway moral person wouldn't easily succumb to such perversion. It says so on the label."

Edge stared at her blankly, momentarily distracted. "It says _that_ on the label? How could they possibly draw any conclusions like that up?"

"Yeah…that, and it says it's for ages thirteen or older," she lifted the potion to just below eye level and studied the label, reciting the rest. "Individual effects vary, though the final result is a boost in affinity between two people who spend extended periods of time together in one small area. Recommended for use in a room less than seventy by sixty feet. Available in both heterosexual and homosexual formats at no extra cost, unless otherwise stated by the reseller. The original company to invent the recipe is not responsible for the effects of replicated attempts. The name 'Aroma of Love' is copyrighted to Tri-Ace's F&R Division."

"…F&R?" he asked hesitantly, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.

She turned the bottle around to see if it elaborated. "Fluff and Romance Division."

"…Oh…," Edge paused, before returning to his lack of approval. "You can't give that to them!"

"Relax! It's meant to be put on display so it can permeate easier, but I'll have to hide it in their room, so it'll be even weaker. As I said before, Myuria changed the recipe to make safe," she reassured, "It'll just put them both in better moods and should lessen their bickering."

"I don't know if I'd place so much faith in Myuria. We just met her, and if you recall, she _still_ wants to _kill_ Crowe. Did you ever think she might be trying to cause trouble?"

"Welch helped though, and I doubt she'd trick me."

Edge sighed heavily, defeated. "Well, they'll still both be livid if they found out about this. I may not be able to convince you otherwise, but I don't agree and I'm not taking any responsibility for what'll happened when they _do_ find out."

Reimi put her free hand on her hip and glared at him stubbornly. "You're not going anywhere. Now that you know, that makes you an accomplice, _at best._ You're helping! Now go find and distract Faize while I find a place to hide this."

"What about Lymle?"

"I baked some cookies for her and told her Faize couldn't have any so she'd eat in the kitchen. If Lymle finds me in there, I can pull the wool over her eyes, but Faize wouldn't believe any bad excuse I came up with. Now go!"

"But, wait! I'm the captain, not the distraction. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"I don't know," Reimi retorted impatiently, "It was hard enough figuring out what to do with Lymle. He's probably at the bridge working right now. Just give him some tedious task to ensure he doesn't leave for a few minutes."

"But I wanted to take a nap…"

"Bark some orders around like a real captain _then_ take a nap!"

"Is it really right to make up some random job for you to sneak around?"

Reimi rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "He's partially a workaholic, especially when in a bad mood. He'll find random, tedious tasks himself if you don't assign any. Now _go!_" she repeated hastily.

Edge shook his head, grumbling an affirmative as he turned around and trudged back down the stairs. _I wonder if he's still doing flight trajectory crap in the bridge… But why on Earth does she want to play matchmaker all of a sudden?_

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Reimi Saionji double checked both staircases before hurrying into Faize and Lymle's shared room. She stepped inside and scanned the room for a good hiding place for the potion, but was momentarily distracted by the abrupt contrast of the two halves of the room.

The right side with the computer desk, was very obviously Faize's. The white sheets on the bed were neatly made and the numerous Eldarian gadgets beside the computer were all in symmetrical lines, organized by whatever function each had.

Lymle's side was, in essence, the exact opposite. The sheets on her bed were bright pink in color and unmade. There were few stuffed animals around the pillow and a haphazard pile of paint tubes, brushes, and ribbons sat on the desk. The drawers beneath the bed were ajar and some had the corners of the garments within sticking out. A box of treats for Cerberus sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, carelessly left open. To top it off, there were doodles all over the floor and wall.

_…I wonder how Faize managed to keep her from scribbling all over his side of the room. _She thought randomly, reflecting on the frequent struggles to keep the Calnus' walls presentable for the ship's next inspection.

She looked to the drawers under each bed and determined the potion was just short enough to fit in one. _Faize is pretty observant…he'd notice if something was amiss or rooted though. _She thought as she knelt down and pulled one of the drawers open, unsurprised to find it full of neatly folded uniforms. She pushed it closed and hurried over the Lymle's bed.

She opened the drawer quickly, equally unsurprised to find her various dresses randomly tossed in or poorly folded. She moved the disorderly pile of clothes toward the front and pulled the drawer out as far as it went. In the back, she found a few of the unworn, perfectly folded outfits she'd given her over the trip. She suppressed a disappointed sigh as she tucked the Aroma of Love behind one and pushed the mess back in place.

She stood up and pushed the drawer closed, careful to leave it slight ajar, as she had found it. She surveyed the room briefly and her frown returned when she went to count the amount of scribbles on the wall and floor. She sighed heavily, not bothering to suppress it that time. She noticed one slip in Faize's apparent determination to at least keep half the room free of paint, for the sign of an unsuccessful removal attempt remained on the chair in front of Faize's computer.

She looked down at the floor as she stopped in front of the door and noticed a sloppy, uneven line of symbol paint in the middle of the room. It seemed to be off to the side a little, giving more space on Lymle's side.

_Oh…_ She thought flatly, mildly disturbed. _She's divided the room. How…disheartening. _She shook her head a final time and hurried out of the room and back toward the item creation room, where, if she was lucky, Lymle would still be eating cookies.

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Final Hikari: I think it's a very bad thing that my iPod kept playing Namie Amuro songs when on shuffle. XD I change a lot around and add things when I type chapters up off paper, and what I'm listening to often has an effect…-sweat drop-

Myuria: People are going to start thinking you're a die hard supporter of this pairing.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Well, I wuv Faize, but I really like tormenting my characters, which brings Lymle as an element in any story in which is written at Faize's expense.

Faize: … -.-

Final Hikari: Also, after the epilogue, one kinda has to submit that they are, as my aforementioned editor would put it, a package deal.

Myuria: Does this editor work for a shipping company?

Final Hikari: XD No. But the mail comes _three times a day_ where she lives. -faints- Oh, what I wouldn't give to have mail come **three times**! Now that's what I call utopian! -brick'd-


	2. Symbol Paint

Final Hikari: -seated at the Calnus' bar beside Myuria, only with a notebook and PC in front of her instead of a drink- Ah, poor Faize. Lymle and I bring out the worst of him.

Myuria: Most couples tend to bring out the worst of each other.

Final Hikari: What about me then?

Myuria: I bar sadist authors from my calculations. -takes a sip-

Final Hikari: -flips notebook page- Uh, thanks?

Myuria: Your welcome. Although I could make you a batch of Love Potion No. 256, if you're interested.

Final Hikari: XD How much will you charge me? I may not always worship that Haggling skill of yours'.

Myuria: I could make some at a discount.

Final Hikari: …And Reimi gets it for free, why?

Myuria: Because you're cheaper than I am and it's quite annoying.

Final Hikari: -.- Gee, thanks. For that, do the disclaimer!

Myuria: …Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: …Could you be more lackluster?

Aroma of Love

Chapter I

Symbol Paint

Faize Sheifa Beleth stifled a yawn as he entered his room, and for what felt like the thousandth time, silently wished he was sharing a room with _anyone_ but Lymle as soon as he stepped inside. She sat at his computer, kicking her feet contentedly, while squeezing a tube of red symbol paint out on his desk. She was drawing scribbles with her fingers and splattering paint all over herself, and more importantly, the computer screen.

She'd knocked all his scanners, translators, memory drives, portable comm devices, and minicomputers to the floor. They were scattered about, some visibly damaged or broken, and others painted. She was also humming an oddly cheerful tune, though her expression was unaffected.

He frowned deeply, wondering if a prayer for more patience, something he'd noticed Earthlings did quite a lot, would do anything, He doubted it. "Lymle," he addressed sternly, "You unevenly divided the room with a symbol so I couldn't so much as walk on your side. It's only fair that I have the same benefits. Could you _please_ not come over here and wreak havoc?"

"The symbol only keeps you off my side, 'kay? You have to cast your own to keep me away."

_As though I'd be childish enough to do something like __**that**__._

"I was taught to use useful, constructive symbols," he said as he knelt down and gathered the electronics, though she ignored him and continued to play with the paint. "That doesn't include simple, nameless ones without logical purpose."

"You just don't know many symbols. I'm a much better symbologist, 'kay?"

"Go wash your hands and pester Edge and Reimi for a while," he replied, feeling slightly more cross when a rather large splatter of paint went up on the computer's screen.

"I already played with Reimi today, 'kay? She baked cookies for me and said you couldn't have any."

"Good for you," he said shortly, dumping all his electronics onto the bed then gently shooing her off the chair.

She didn't move and instead hooked her legs under the chair.

"Lymle," he repeated with annoyance, "Paint your own desk and leave the computer alone. It's far more valuable than your plush animals."

"No," she said, pressing all the buttons on the side of the screen with paint covered fingers.

Patience wearing thin, he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her hand away before she clogged the buttons with the red paint. She objected and fidgeted as he attempted - key word being attempted - to lift her out of the chair. She struggled for a moment before she grabbed her tube of paint and squeezed it tightly, with both hands.

The contents of the half full tube shot out, sending a massive splotch of the opaque goo on the middle of the screen. He dropped her back onto the chair and grimaced in horror as it dripped down, furthering the damage. She also surveyed it, although rather smugly, as he wondered what he'd done so wrong in his mere eighteen years of life to deserve having to deal with Lymle on an almost hourly basis.

She hopped off his chair and resumed humming cheerily as she left of the room and walked down the hall, toward the bathroom, to wash the paint off her hands. He plopped down in the chair exasperatedly, although relieved to be rid of her; even if only for a few minuets. He reached out and tapped the paint on the screen, dismayed to find it completely dry. _I have to…chip all of this off…?_

He looked down to inspect the damage to the desk itself, and noticed a discernable shape amongst the scribbles. His frown deepened, however, it was in puzzlement instead of irritation. He examined it a moment, but was sure he wasn't imagining things.

"A…heart?" he questioned aloud.

He stood, shaking his head slightly, and began to replace all his gadgets in their respective places so the desk, deciding to leave repairing the computer until later. He had a pounding headache - only made worse by Lymle - and wanted to rest for a while before attending to the device. He didn't have any problem with repairing computers, engines, or machinery in general, but out of all the tasks the Calnus presented him with, he disliked the ones Lymle's childishness created for him.

He turned the lights in the room down, though she'd probably just turn them right back on as soon as she returned, and laid down, trying to dismiss all the tumultuous, foreboding thoughts that had been haunting him. Despite her antics, her poor behavior was the least of his worries.

Between what had happened at the Purgatorium and their ominous order to return to Aeos, his thoughts had been far from the unfocused attitude most of the Calnus' crew seemed to consistently project.

Sarah and Meracle, though clueless and seemingly uninterested in the severity of the situation, at least didn't purposely make hindrances of themselves as Lymle never failed to do. He cast a final disappointed glance at the computer before closing his eyes. _That paint will take hours to get off…I'd be better off replacing the screen…_

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Reimi Saionji giggled as she strolled into the Calnus' bridge and walked toward her computer console. Only Myuria and Edge remained at the bridge, though while Edge was actually doing work, Myuria seemed to be typing a personal email. She took her seat as Myuria spun around in her own with a smirk.

"Did that go well?" the older woman asked with a knowing wink.

"Perfectly," Reimi replied pleasantly. "I had Edge help, so there's no need to be subtle around him."

Myuria raised and eyebrow questioningly and looked over to where Edge was seated in the captain's chair. "You're in on this now, too, boy? I didn't think you'd cooperate in playing a trick on your crew."

Edge frowned deeply and didn't look up from the screen when he replied. "I wouldn't have agreed given the circumstances, but I lacked a choice."

The Morphus woman smirked and turned back to Reimi. "So, how closely will you be monitoring those two? Don't be disappointed if they keep driving the other mad though, that potion is pretty weak. It'll be a while before it can bring an accord between two people constantly arguing."

"Oh, I'm pretty confident we'll notice some changes," she said knowingly. "I think Faize sees as her as too much of a child to notice, but she does worry about him. I'd imagine she'll stop playing tricks on him all the time with this though."

"How old are they?" Myuria asked casually.

"Faize is eighteen. Numerically speaking, Lymle just turned sixteen, but physically and for the most part psychologically, she's only six."

"Hmm," Myuria paused thoughtfully. "Love potions of any kind are usually most potent on teenage girls. Perhaps it will be interesting to see how this goes. Other than that, she's just a normal human, right?"

"Lemurisian," Reimi corrected, "But, yes, that's right."

"That's good, then. I don't know how much it'll effect that Eldarian though, since they're all genetically modified at birth."

"Really?" she asked, sounding slightly disappointed. "Well…I suppose that's fine."

"When they're older, call me and I'll whip up a few Love Potion Number 256s for them," Myuria replied, turning her chair to face the computer once more. "They took Number _356_ off the market a few years back, but I still know if you want one of those for…_personal uses_," she added suggestively.

"Number 356? Why?" the younger woman questioned, although a little warily. "I didn't know there was such a thing."

"You wouldn't," Myuria remarked, "Let's just say the age rating on _that_ one was quite a bit higher. The company decided to discontinue it because it still managed to get into the hands of minors, and the parents or soon-to-be-grandparents of said minors complained. "

Reimi blushed and shook her head abruptly. "N-no thanks. The Aroma of Love is plenty."

Edge stood up from the captain's chair and left the bridge tiredly and without a word. _This ship's crew is mainly women…I finally understand why Crowe always opted for at least half and half…_ He thought tiredly, never having paid much attention to the fact five females - six if he counted Welch - were very noisy when confined to one ship for extended periods of time.

Sarah and Meracle were, or so he'd been told, making dinner that night. He was slightly afraid of what the result would be, but decided it shouldn't be too hazardous to go investigate…or do damage control. He doubted Welch would let them make anything inedible, but he wasn't sure about all of Roak's medieval culinary practices the twosome were familiar with.

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Lymle Lemuri Phi, tired of trying to make sense of Bacchus' boring board game, and entered the Calnus' Recreation Room to see Meracle, and to her surprise, Edge, setting the tables for dinner. Edge looked haggard and a floppy white chef's hat hand been placed on his head, almost definitely the work of Welch. Meracle impatiently showed him how to properly fold the napkins and instructed him to fix the others he'd just placed at each setting.

"Do you need help?" Lymle asked.

Meracle's ears pricked up before she glanced up, smiling cheerily. "Sure, Lym! Do you wanna go tell Faize dinner is ready? Everyone else is already in the kitchen helping with the mess Sarah made. It's pretty scary in there."

"'Kay," she replied, voice flat and unaffected as ever.

She returned up the stairs, inwardly wondering why he hadn't been back and forth to the storage room to try removing the paint she'd splattered all over his computer's screen with every foul smelling chemical cleaner aboard the ship. A shadow of disappointment crept into her mind; she had looked forward to seeing him all exasperated, futilely trying to get it off. His voice always got noticeably higher and at times squeaky when he was irritated.

She walked down the hall and entered the third cabin, surprising to see the lights turned down. Other than a few blinking lights on the electronics that had been returned to their neat, orderly lines on his desk, the only thing that illuminated the room was the stars speeding past outside the window.

_He's already sleeping?_ She wondered, walking over the room's diving line. _It's so early, I'm not even tired yet._ She tilted her head curiously when she noticed his hands clutched into fists, gripping the sheet atop the bed tightly.

"Faize?" she questioned, tone almost hesitant.

She took another few steps forward and looked at his tense, almost pained expression. His breathing was faster than usual and he looked pale. She peered over the edge of the bed, expression somewhat saddened. _He must be…having a nightmare…_

"Faize…," she muttered aloud, a second time. The haunting memory of when his eyes had flashed an ominous red returned and a slight frown came over her face. "What's going on…?"

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Final Hikari: X.X I hope no one noticed the differences in my storytelling between this one and my other work. This feels just a bit far fetched. -sweat drop- I'm not very happy with things so far…

Myuria: Have a drink, you'll feel better.

Final Hikari: …That isn't going to help my writing. And I'm underage!

Myuria: Years past faster on some planets.

Final Hikari: Are you an alcoholic, or what? -.- You're always at the bar in TLH.

Myuria: Weren't you just explaining things to your readers?

Final Hikari: Uh. Yeah, I was. XD Anyway! -turns to readers- I've done a few other humor genre short stories, though this is the most parody like, and I'm also changing POVs more than I usually do for humor. Has anyone noticed any awkwardness in the storytelling surrounding POV switches…?

Myuria: I'm sure they didn't until you brought to their attention. Now you can expect complains.

Final Hikari: -.- Enough out of you! -clears throat- I'd also like to thank anonymous reviewer, Angela, for reviewing both Utopia and Aroma of Love so consistently! :D I always look forward to hearing from you at the end of each chapter. Thanks for reading!


	3. The Grape of Doom

Final Hikari: XD Another chapter! My VII readers must want my blood by now.

Reimi: Just how often are you working on stories for your other fandoms?

Final Hikari: Not nearly as often as I should be; I'll be stressing to keep true to the promises I made about finishing Remember My Name and Valkyrie's Favor this year. XD Shame on me.

Myuria: Dare we agree?

Final Hikari: If it was Arumat, I'd put up with it, but since you're anything but, no. XD …Although neither of you seem to believe in that crazy, totally out-there concept of _shirts._

Reimi: Final Hikari doesn't won anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: :D Although I should soon own the re-release of the first Star Ocean game on the PSP! I just have to wait for whatever birthday I get to come in so I can see how much of it I can piss away; I _really_ have to start saving for tuition after all. X.X Waiting until high school to start saving was so stupid!

Myuria: And the readers don't care. Now start the chapter, child.

Final Hikari: -.- Gee, I don't even get "girl?"

Aroma of Love

Chapter II

The Grape of Doom

It was about six in the morning, at least according to the Calnus' clocks, when Faize Sheifa Beleth entered the second store room in search of a replacement screen for his computer. The clocks were gradually easing from Roak's time to Aeos', which, unfortunately, were very different.

There were a great deal of supplies to replace the various parts of the computer consoles on the bridge, but after indexing several large and heavy boxes of electronics, he had found nothing suitable for one of the in-room consoles. Worst of all, the screen was solely touch sensitive; if it was just a holographic display, like what was used on Eldar, paint damage never would have happened.

He opened a sixth box and sorted through its contents, search still fruitless. He was careful to replace all the equipment back into its previous organization before closing the box and scanning the wall of unmarked boxes darkly. If there was any reason Earthlings had the tendency to leave things unclassified, he couldn't understand it. Suddenly, and without warning, a voice hardly a yard behind him spoke.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked curiously, sitting atop one of the boxes he'd moved only a few minutes prior.

He whipped around, surprised by the sudden appearance of another person. He hadn't so much heard the doors slide open, a sure announcement to another's entrance. Lymle sat on one of the many boxes with her wand beside her, a sure sign she was up to something. Just like her appearance and personality, the weapon was very childish in appearance. Her enigmatic expression and innocent gaze didn't fool him.

"I'm looking for a replacement screen for the one you destroyed yesterday," he said flatly, deciding not to soften the reality of the facts; surely, she _had_ to know she'd caused trouble.

"Reirei's making breakfast soon, 'kay?" she said, ignoring his comment. "You slept through dinner last night, so I thought you oughtta know."

"Why are you keeping track?" he asked suspiciously. "Do you have plans to poison me with something?"

She stuck her tongue out at him mockingly in response. "You're paranoid, 'kay? That's the word Myurie uses."

"Do you even know what 'paranoid' means?"

"Kinda. Myurie used it to describe you, so I'm sure it's bad," she replied simply.

"You shouldn't use words if you have no inkling as to the definition," he admonished.

She didn't reply, and instead watched silently as he lifted another large box off one of the many stacks and opened it to glance through what it contained. She stood up and peered over his shoulder, but the box was full of a myriad of wires, tubes, engine parts, and various other types of electronic components, but no replacement computer screen.

"Symbol paint comes off, 'kay?" she said, though he didn't look up.

"With what?" he asked dryly, obviously not believing her.

"With symbol paint remover," she replied simple, while hopping off the box.

"Eldar's symbology is far more expansive and advanced than Lemuris', if there was such a thing, I would know of it," he replied shortly.

"There are two way, 'kay? One's with a symbol Lutie taught me so I don't get it all over my hands and clothes. It won't come off with normal soap or cleaners, 'kay?"

"I know," he said darkly, "I've tried."

"Only I can get it off," she explained as she reached up and grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the door. "I'll show you, 'kay?"

_What has gotten into her…?_ He wondered, more mistrustful of her intentions than before. _Why would she want to help me?_ He followed her reluctantly though he suspected some disastrous prank to occur at any moment. The door to the item creation slid open and instead of a prank, something far worse presented itself; or rather, herself.

Welch Vineyard.

She snapped to attention as soon as she spotted them exiting the secluded meeting room and pointed at them dramatically with her Poking Stick. She gasped and took on an equally melodramatic pose as Reimi glanced up, in contrast, looking unconcerned.

"Ah-ha! Exiting a lonely, seldom accessed store room early in the morning, _hand in hand!_ Just what is going on here?! Auntie Welch wants an explanation out of you kids!"

Reimi shook her head and sighed heavily at the younger - or so they all hoped- woman's antics. Welch turned to Reimi and brandished her Poking Stick at her in response. "You're covering for them! Are you in on this conspiracy as well?!"

They started toward the exit but Welch noticed and promptly swiped her Poking Stick in Faize's direction. He had to duck to avoid being hit over the head with, which he imagined to be metal, hand at the end of the stick.

"What was _that_ for?" he demanded indignantly, voice getting noticeably higher as it always did when he was upset or surprised.

"Get away from her, you pedophile!" Welch yelled, _far_ too loudly, and attempted to lash out with her Poking Stick a second time.

"It's completely illogical to insinuate such things just because-" Faize began, instantly on the defensive, but broke off when Lymle interjected and pulled him along toward the door on the far side of the room.

It only really occurred to him that Welch could attempt attacking him with her Poking Stick as much as she wanted and never accomplish anything, since both she and her stick were holographic. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner?

"C'mon, Faize. Welchie's only kidding."

"I certainly am not!" she retorted, the gloved hand on her Poking Stick extending its pointer finger. "Come back here! I'm not done!"

"I am _not_ a pedophile!" Faize hollered back, uncharacteristically irritated, as he attempted to shake his hand from Lymle's surprisingly firm grip without making a scene.

"That's what they all say!"

"Do you have to be completely melodramatic about _everything_, you…you otaku!"

Welch snickered and crossed her arms. "Is that the best you could come up with? Where'd ya learn that word, an outdated Earthling dictionary? Try learning the language, Alien Ears!"

Welch grinned and winked knowingly at Reimi as the doors slid open and they exited, still, although grudgingly, hand in hand. Sarah was on the treadmill, or at least trying to stay on the treadmill, but no one else occupied the Recreation Room, to some degree of relief for Faize. She was too preoccupied to notice them pass. Myuria or Meracle almost definitely would have poked fun at them.

Thus, they went unnoticed as Lymle pulled him along. After ascending the stairs and entering the crew quarters, he cast the screen that displayed the rooming settings that was mounted on the wall a dark look. _What_ had Edge been _thinking_ when making them share a room?

The answer was actually quite simple, for their blonde-haired captain had obviously _not_ been thinking, but such a disrespectful thought never crossed Faize's mind.

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Faize asked crossly. "You probably put Welch up to it, too."

Lymle didn't reply but released his hand as soon as they entered the room. She then hurried over to the middle of the room raised her wand above her head. Faize stepped back when he recognized the white light that enveloped the wand. A dark, fiery portal appeared high above her head, nearly connecting with the ceiling, but still far too close to him for comfort. He hopped on the bed in the nick of time to avoid the fire demon that sprung from the void. As soon as it caught sight of him, it growled ominously.

"_Lymle! _What are you _doing?_" Faize demanded untrustingly.

"Taking off the paint, 'kay?" she replied innocently, giving Cerberus' scarf a gentle tug.

She pulled him over to Faize's computer and pointed at the screen. "Take the paint off, 'kay? You get a treat afterward."

"A treat?" Faize interjected with a frown, slightly distracted. "Why would you give a demon from the Purgatory food? It obviously doesn't need to eat to sustain itself."

"He likes 'em, 'kay?"

The beast sniffed the computer and turned its head around to growl at Faize a second time. Though he knew it to be his imagination, the room seemed to get smaller as the fire demon's presence elevated the overall temperature. The Calnus' cooling system clicked on to try and combat the abnormal source of hear. Lymle patted his head, assuring him it was fine to do…whatever the enigmatic girl planned him to do.

He was more than a little suspicious; anything that involved Cerberus had never been good for him. Whether it was aboard the Calnus during long flights when it tried to bite him or in combat when it would randomly decide to go sailing over his head at shadily low altitudes, it gladly reflected its master's unharmonious feelings toward him.

Cerberus placed its massive, flaming paws up, one on the chair and the other on the desk. He stared blankly as it began to _lick_ the screen. His expression changed from skeptical to somewhat disgusted.

The monster's tongue, wet and foul smelling as any average dog's, went over his screen, leaving thick layers of saliva dripping down. There seemed to be a green film forming wherever the saliva touched. He hoped Earthling computers were waterproof; if not, he'd still be in for a repair job, and with a machine left with a very unpleasant odor.

But, sure enough, the paint was dissolving effectively. He leaned back, resigned Cerberus wasn't going to attack him; at least for the moment. Lymle hopped up and sat at the foot of his bed, turning around to face him, expression faintly smug.

"See? My doggie's a good boy, 'kay?"

He glanced over, watching the growing puddle of the creature's thick saliva started to drip from the desk to the floor. At least he'd had the sense to remove all the other electronics from the surface…

"I…suppose…," Faize trailed off, still mildly disturbed.

"You should give him a treat, too, 'kay?"

"There is no logic behind feeding a demon," he retorted, "It doesn't need to eat and its intelligence outscores an average canine's. Thus, it probably doesn't do the menial tasks you command it to for the reward of a treat, but rather because it's bound to obey you."

"He _likes_ 'em, 'kay?" she repeated stubbornly. "He'll have the paint off in a few minutes."

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Final Hikari: While on such joyously random topics, I wasn't sure if I enjoyed or felt bad for picking on Faize this chapter. XD I requested the wonderful **Dr. Meh**, who conspired to create Sekai's granny in my Final Fantasy VII story, All That's Left behind, to do one of the thing she does best; harass fiction characters about romance and their love lives. XD

Myuria: -snicker- She came up with that pretty fast.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Can you blame her? There was a reason I was actually against this pairing for the larger portion of TLH. XD I mean, it's kinda cute when little kids get crushes on older people, but the other way around is…just…well…

Myuria: Pedophilia.

Final Hikari: XD And there's no convincing more than half the people who didn't play the game that isn't actually the case. Now it's time for this agonizingly awkward chapter to _end._ It's just such a horrible word. XD It makes me think of internet stalkers and the creepy old men who are always trying to lure girls into their cars. T.T Stereotypical or not, it's one paranoia I have no intention of breaking. XD …There's actually someone who's stalking me at the moment, but he hates me, and isn't that much older than me. I suppose I should broaden that stereotype…

Myuria: If you want _real_ pedophilia, look to those who support Arumat / Meracle.

Final Hikari: -gag- _What?_

Myuria: It's quite common now.

Final Hikari: Uh…well…-contemplates- I suppose it isn't completely unfound. There was that one silly scene and he did lose his scythe in the end of the game so she didn't fall off, but…well…they're ten years apart! XD

Myuria: Like you're one to condemn.

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- Good point. I always go for older guys. XD Well, I suppose she's got good taste, if nothing else. -brick'd- I'd probably have renewed respect for Meracle if anyone ever wrote something believable between them. XD It's have to be unrequited though…

Myuria: Why don't you write something, then? You have experience with unrequited loves.

Final Hikari: -.- Enough out of you. Oh, but one on-topic note. XD I know Welch's "weapon" isn't actually called the "Poking Stick," but I called it that for the sake of a long running joke between my sister and I. XD


	4. Feathers

Final Hikari: -sitting in Calnus' Recreation Room polishing new pair of glasses- -thoughtful- -glint in eye when Faize walks past- Oh! Faize! Would you come here a minute? -epitome of innocence-

Faize: Hmm? Is there something you need?

Final Hikari: -sweet smile- Can you see what's different about my new pair of glasses?

Faize: O.O Sorry, I have work to do. -departs rather quickly-

Final Hikari: -frown- But they really are new! And they really are different! Look! New warranty card and case! -waves both-

Arumat: -slightly skeptical look- …Dare I even ask what that's all about?

Final Hikari: _(thinking to self: a fresh, clueless victim!)_ -bounces over- Mattie! Look, I got new glasses!

Arumat: -blank, uninterested stare- Right…

Final Hikari: -sweet smile- Can you tell what's different about them?

Arumat: …The one side isn't missing?

Final Hikari: -frown- What _else?_

Arumat: -leans down- No idea. -silently wondering why in seven hells he's humoring this-

Final Hikari: Look very closely at the lenses. _(he has such pretty eyes! XD)_

Arumat: -taps left lens- They aren't cracked like your sanity. Can I leave now?

Final Hikari: -pulls off glasses- How did you _notice_ that?! They said the crack wasn't noticeable when I got the eye exam!

Myuria: -shakes head- Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Aroma of Love

Chapter III

Feathers

Welch Vineyard giggled evilly as she helped Reimi prepare breakfast; or at least, help as much as a holographic image could. Her physical form was most likely in her bedroom at USTA Headquarters with her nose in an age-sixteen-plus shojo manga.

"So, things are going _well_ with your little plan?" Welch drawled knowingly.

"They seem to be," Reimi replied, measuring a cup full of chocolate chips for pancakes. "Myuria said it won't have much affect on Faize though, since Eldarians are genetically modified at birth."

"Mmm, that's an odd planet that little alien comes from," she remarked before cackling manically. "He's too polite to say it, but he really doesn't like me. That prank a few months ago went better than I could have dreamed."

"Lymle thought it was a complete failure," Reimi chuckled.

"And Faizerino though it was all my doing," Welch nodded, sounding smug. "How long do you think it'll be before he figures this one out? I bet five-hundred Fol you're busted before we land on Aeos!"

"No way," Reimi retorted. "He's not going to figure it out _that_ quickly."

"How much do you wager?" Welch demanded, her Poking Stick's hand taking the form of another accusatory point.

Reimi looked thoughtful for a moment as she stirred the chocolate chips into the pancake batter. "I put one thousand Fol on three weeks."

"Ha! You're on!" Welch said arrogantly. "I'll arrange my order for the highly collectible _first edition _of the final volume of _Absolute Boyfriend_ with that kind of cash comin' in!"

"Keep a credit card ready, Welch. I'm _definitely_ winning this bet."

"Don't get cocky just because I lost that bet about him screaming like a girl when the accidental kiss happened. I preferred the final result we ended up with, but his voice gets _soooooo_ high and squeaky when he yells or gets upset. Also, that nice ring I've had my eye on takes a backseat to rare shojo mangas!"

"Why don't you just download the digital editions of all that stuff? It's a lot cheaper."

"With all the bad bets you make, I can purchase as I please. Now keep cooking and send me some of those chocolate chips!"

Faize Sheifa Beleth glanced over his shoulder, slightly unnerved by Lymle's unyielding stare. She'd dismissed Cerberus after giving him a cookie; one that didn't look anything like dog food, no less. She'd ended up forcing him to award the beast as well, but he'd narrowly escaped losing a few fingers when offering it the treat.

Though the screen of his computer was pain-free, and a lot of the scribbles on the desk were also gone, the unpleasant odor of Cerberus' saliva remained. He was refreshing the air with a chemical that left the room smelling like "oranges" instead of dog breath. It was supposedly an Earthling fruit, but the smell was actually that of a harsh disinfectant.

Lymle sat on her bed on the other side of the room, watching as he scrubbed the green film from the beast's saliva off his desk, much to his paranoid displeasure. Perhaps Myuria had a point; he was suspicious of her uncharacteristically thoughtful gesture to remove the paint. It was her fault, though it gave no explanation as to why she was _staring_ at him.

He knelt down to scrub at the floor where the discolored film had formed a large stain. It was thick and smelled fouler than anything he'd encountered up until then. He grimaced at the mess slightly as the door slid open and Sarah poked her head inside, greeting them cheerily.

"Good morning! Reimi is serving breakfast. She made something called 'pancakes,'" the Featherfolk informed politely.

"Thanks, Sarrie," Lymle replied, voice enigmatic as ever.

Faize also muttered an affirmative but was more concerned with not inhaling any of the cleaner's scent or the odor the green slime emanated. He had no idea - and seriously doubted he wanted to - what caused such a color. It wasn't the paint, since it would have been tinted red if that was the case. There was no logical explanation, but it was certain that it came from Cerberus.

Sarah departed from the doorway and Lymle hopped off the bed and walked over to him. She pulled on his sleeve wordlessly but expectantly. He glanced up, mildly surprised to find himself at eye level with her.

"Yes?" he inquired uninterestedly.

"C'mon, it's breakfast time, 'kay?" she replied, pulling his sleeve a second time.

"I'll come down in a few minutes, I want to finish this spot first."

She released his sleeve and walked over to the door, looking slightly disappointed but too stubborn to admit it. "If you're down in five minutes I'm coming back with Cerberus, 'kay, Faizie?"

"Yes, yes, I know," he said dismissively, automatically dismissing her comments as childish prattle. They were seldom anything but, after all.

She disappeared out the door and he resumed scrubbing. Missing another meal, though it didn't bother him any, would alert the rest of the crew something was amiss. The troublesome repercussions would be too bothersome. _Lymle's already paying an abnormal amount of attention to me…and she tells Edge and Reimi everything, so I suppose I ought to get going…_

He stood and pulled the thick rubber gloves off, leaving the scrub brush on the floor to finish when he got back; not that cleaning Cerberus slime was a very appealing prospect after eating breakfast. He was replacing the cap on the bottle of cleaner when a strange thought crossed his mind. He blinked and looked over to the door, expression confused. _Did she just…call me…'Faizie'…?_

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Reimi Saionji, not wearing her formal white gloves for once, brought the napkins and utensils out and set them down on the Recreation Room's main table while Edge was putting the commands in for the optional second table to rise from beneath the floor. The Calnus had a crew capacity of eight, making the need for extra seating a notable one. Bacchus, being a cyborg, didn't eat with them, but seven chairs were still required.

"Edge, hurry up over there," Reimi remarked as she folded the third napkin. "It's almost time to serve."

"It's acting up," Edge said exasperatedly, "I think a few of Sarah's feathers got stuck in the machinery…"

"Do you need Faize to come and fix it?" she asked dryly as she finished with the final napkin. "It'd be easier if you just called him now before you go and break something that makes the repair job take even longer."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," he retorted sarcastically. "But I have _some_ troubleshooting abilities."

"But what if you need to get down beneath the floor to remove the feathers? Only he'll fit down there," she added as the floor above the table slid open to reveal it and the four chairs, identical to the permanent set. There was only a thin open area where someone could slip between the metal floor and the table, just wide enough to admit their mechanic entry; not Edge and his armored uniform.

"Damn," he muttered, turning back to the holographic screen that had materialized above the area.

Lymle descended the stairs and surveyed the situation for a moment before speaking up. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, good morning, Lym," Reimi greeted with a smile. "Edge can't get the table to work. Could you go get Faize?"

"I can do it myself," Edge interjected stubbornly.

Reimi rolled her eyes, though Edge's objection came a moment too late for Faize reached the bottom of the opposite staircase at that moment.

"Did someone call me?" he questioned, also scanning the situation.

"Everything's fi-"

"Could you fix the table?" Reimi asked, cutting Edge off without a thought. "A few of Sarah's feathers got stuck in the mechanics and Edge has been messing with it for half an hour but can't accomplish anything."

"Sure," Faize replied politely, starting toward the holographic display and problematic table. Lymle followed him over, though her quiet footsteps went unnoticed.

Edge stepped aside with his arms crossed as he cast Reimi a dark look. She smiled innocently in response as Lymle glanced between the two of them. Faize typed a few commands and two other holographic displays appeared. He typed some more into each and hardly five seconds elapsed before the table began to rise.

However, much to the captain's relief, it stopped after it ascended a mere two inches. Though he made no claim to share even half of the young Eldarian's experience with ship engineering, as the captain of the Calnus, he should have been able to fix _something_ without help.

"There are seven feathers down there," Faize replied as he walked over to the small space between the table and the Calnus' dark nether regions. "I can go and get them out, but you'll have to input the first override command while I'm down there. It's a two part configuration to verify the impediment creating the system error has been cleared."

Edge stared at him blankly. "Override command…?"

"It's the same for all the optional devices on the ship, whether they're added or already equipped. Don't you remember? It's displayed at the top of the screen on the console at the Captain's computer terminal on the bridge."

"Uh…refresh my memory. It's a word, right?"

"It's X43ML7K9436212B4A," Faize replied as he slipped beneath the Calnus' floors, apparently reciting it from memory.

Edge shook his head incredulously while Reimi departed for the kitchen, wearing a smirk. Lymle walked over to the edge and knelt to peer down. Faize was on his knees, for the area between the Calnus' floor and the bottom of the area beneath wasn't tall enough for him to stand.

The shadows of several other objects that resided beneath the floor when not in use were just visible. She saw a large display screen to the far left that she'd had Reimi eject to watch a movie on. The area was dark and illuminated only by a few small, blinking lights. Faize reached beneath the table and after a moment, pulled a luminescent silver feather out, though it was slightly greasy, as were his fingers. He moved over to the opposite side and flipped a half-released hatch up and extracted another feather that had gotten partially trapped.

The third feather was more easily accessed, since forces unknown had it clinging the side of a chair. The fourth feather was far less accessible, for he had to dismantle a small part of the table before retrieving it. He moved quickly but efficiently when putting it back together before moving over to locate the fifth.

He was directly beneath her, but seemingly unaware of her presence. Edge was scrutinizing some of the indiscernible Eldarian characters displayed on the screens, futilely trying to figure out what on Earth - or perhaps Eldar - they could possibly mean. Though Eldar's system of writing was faintly reminiscent of Lemuris', she didn't have any idea better than he did.

Faize located the fifth feather and straightened, glancing up at the display screen above to double check the locations of the final two. However, instead of a holographic screen, he saw Lymle. Their faces were only a few inches apart and he fell backward when she didn't recoil. Edge didn't seem to notice, despite the rather loud _thud_.

"Here," he said shortly, handing her the feathers with a rather displeased look.

After a few more minutes had passed, he removed the remaining two feathers which had somehow managed to work themselves into amazingly difficult-to-reach places. It made sense they'd created adverse effects on the machinery. He called up to Edge to enter the first override command, but had to recite it a second time, for the blond captain had been unable to remember the seventeen character code. Faize climbed out to enter the second code himself, which was an odd mix of Earthling and Eldarian characters.

After that, the table and chairs rose from the floor smoothly, without making any odd scraping noises nor producing the unpleasant smell of burning plastic. Faize stepped away from the holographic screens and closed them.

Reimi exited the item creation room with a large tray full of plates of steaming pancakes and smirked slightly when she saw the table in place after no more than seven minutes elapsed. She placed the platter and syrup dispenser down and turned to them brightly.

"Thanks for fixing that, Faize. Edge is _so useless_ when it comes to fixing things," she emphasized dryly before looking towards Edge. "Now get in the kitchen and help carry the plates out."

Edge followed reluctantly, arms crossed. "This is for spying on you this morning, isn't it?" he grumbled quietly.

"Obviously," she retorted.

The door opened and they disappeared down the hallway as she continued to reprimand his actions irritably, leaving Faize and Lymle alone in the room. Neither seemed very surprised, for it was almost disturbingly normal behavior for the Captain and First Officer. She glanced up at him and stared for a moment.

"What?" he asked, a bit suspiciously.

"You have grease on your nose, 'kay?"

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Final Hikari: I had a hard time with this chapter. X.X I'm finding myself writing a lot of humor recently, but I have yet to develop a set style for such a drastically different genre… However, I was listening to some very hazardous music to type this. XD

Myuria: What might that be?

Final Hikari: "Because the Night." X.X I'm very guilty to admit how much I adore this song, but it's probably a very bad thing to be listening to since what I listen to influences my writing…XD

Myuria: Once your rants go past two sentences, the readers stop caring, you know.

Final Hikari: -.- Who asked you? Anyway, since I was asked (accompanied by a DX) if I support Arumat / Meracle, I have to say no. XD If it was one-sided, as in Meracle having a crush on Arumat, it'd be entertaining to read but I honestly can't see him returning anything. XD I mean, a ten year age gap isn't that glaring, but Meracle is far too innocent for her age, even if she does have amnesia and was held captive on a foreign planet for a long time. Seriously! No normal sixteen-year-old would ask, "What are you doing…so close?"

Myuria: -uninterested look- Anything on topic to discuss?

Final Hikari: Uh. Yes. "Absolute Boyfriend" is the property of Yuu Watase, my favorite mangaka! I love her Ceres: Celestial Legend and Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden series best, but for some reason, I can picture Welch reading Absolute Boyfriend the easiest. XD

Myuria: …Some sort of Earthling entertainment, I take it?

Final Hikari: Shojo manga. I shall end my rant saying that, for some reason, the nickname "Faizie" burns my fingers to type. XD Never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness she hated him at first. -shot- Oh, one more thing!

Myuria: -rolls eyes- How long are you going to rant?

Final Hikari: I'm almost done! To answer the, "Where the hell did she get the idea that things were beneath the floor?" question I'm sure you're all partly thinking, I got it from the scene where Lymle summoned Cerberus inside the Calnus and is sitting beside him looking up at a scene that mysteriously appeared from the middle of the floor in the Recreation Room. It's the scene where Cerberus tried to bite Faize, if more specification is needed. Cerberus pops up a lot in the Recreation Room…


	5. Cookies And Concussions

Final Hikari: -cracks knuckles- Okay! I need to get to work! I have about three hours to write this chapter, start to finish! X.X I better dig some Namie Amuro music up so I can effectively write humor…

Myuria: Mmm, that's nice. -obviously not interested- By the way, since AoL is about half done, the readers are asking what's next.

Final Hikari: …Next?

Myuria: Yes. As in, what you'll be writing after Aroma of Love for the Star Ocean section to go alongside Utopia.

Final Hikari: -anime crash- B-but I already have sixteen projects/commitments! Though I would like to write "How Many Phantoms?" …It's an pre-TLH Arumat fan fiction I came up with before I started Utopia and dropped because it would be extremely difficult to write. Besides, my editor would kill me if I started something else! Now, Myuria, disclaimer!

Myuria: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Aroma of Love

Chapter IV

Cookies And Concussions

The breakfast was uneventful, and other than Lymle going out of her way to sit beside Faize (only furthering his suspicion that such uncharacteristic behavior had alternative motives), it went normally. The others had all gone to attend to their own business, however, while the item creation room was still set up as a kitchen to make food-based items. Lymle snuck off to consult Welch.

She walked through the room and over to the module called the Welch Vineyard. She climbed onto the platform to see it better and examined the buttons on the panel blankly. She'd watched Edge do it many times, for the item creation 'genius' was more or less on call, but had never paid attention to which button he pressed. Her eyes then settled on a rather large square button with an icon depicting Welch's Poking Stick. Deciding it was the best bet, she pressed the button and waited.

Sure enough, the older girl's hologram appeared, but she was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her nose in a book. She inwardly noted that it opened the opposite way of the tiny collection of ones Edge and Reimi collected, most of which were manuals of some sort. The cover read _"Absolute Boyfriend" _by a "Yuu Watase."

"Oh, Soshi, it's too true!" Welch exclaimed melodramatically, blissfully unaware she was no longer in the privacy of her room, and apparently addressing a character in the book. "Gackt and Ayumi Hamasaki _were_ too good to be true! If only they really were robots…and if Gackt didn't look better in a dress than I do, I'd _so_ buy a lover figure of his likeness…," she muttered, continuing her rant obliviously. "If all the stupid Earthling companies that _did_ have the technology didn't make bombs before they destroyed themselves, I really could buy this sort of thing…"

"…Welchie?" Lymle questioned, tilting her head slightly.

Welch glanced up and yelped, jumping to her feet and quickly hiding her inappropriate shojo manga behind her back. "Lymle! Uh, w-when did you get here? And when did the projector turn on? D-did you see me slacking off…?"

"Reirei says the books you read are too mature for you, 'kay?"

"There's a chocolate bar in it for you if you don't tell Reimi and Edge about this…," Welch drawled with a wink. "I could even get you white chocolate, if you want."

Deciding there was no reason in refusing the offer, Lymle nodded, expression impassive as ever. "I want two. White chocolate and normal chocolate, 'kay?"

Welch squinted. "You drive a hard bargain, kid." She shook her head and shrugged helplessly. "But for the sake of the rare final volume, I'll do it. I'll have them by tomorrow…but did you want to make something?"

"I need Reirei's recipe for chocolate cookies, 'kay?"

"Which ones? Chocolate chips or fudge double chocolate? I have 'em both, but I recommend the latter. It makes more, so my commission will be larg-err, I mean they taste better."

"Double chocolate," she replied simply, deciding to ignore Welch's not-so-subtle attempts to pull the wool over a child's eyes.

"Okay. The ingredients are two cups of flour, a three-fourths cup of cocoa, one teaspoon baking soda, two cups sugar, two chicken eggs, _not _insect eggs, two teaspoons vanilla extract, one and one-fourth cup of sweet, _not_ salty, butter, not margarine, and one twelve-ounce package of mild chocolate chips…preferably Hershey's brand. Preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit and bake for eight minutes. They're supposed to be soft and over-baking is _very_ bad."

"What's a her she?" Lymle questioned, sounding the word out.

"A brand of chocolate…?" Welch replied after a moment of blank staring. "Anyway, why do you want to try making cookies? You're kinda too short to reach the counters."

"A present," she replied, volunteering no further information.

Welch raised an eyebrow and with a blur of pixels, her Poking Stick materialized. "For whom?"

She frowned slightly and remained silent before reluctantly replying. "…Faize."

"_Oh really?_" Welch drawled with an evil smirk. "That's very nice of you. Any particular reason? Or are you trying to poison him with something? If you really did use insect eggs instead of chicken eggs, that'd probably get even an alien like him pretty sick. You'd have to use a lot to make sure the cookies still look okay on the outside. Though they are green…so it might throw the color off or produce an unpleasant order…," Welch babbled, weighing the pros and cons of insect eggs.

_…Who's side is she on…?_

"No. Bug eggs are yucky, 'kay?"

Welch, if anything, looked a bit disappointed. "So no poison?"

"I'm _not_ poisoning him, 'kay?" she retorted, a bit crossly.

"Just checking," Welch retorted with an innocent shrug. She lifted her shojo manga back up, her smirk broadening. "That's quite a love potion Myuria and Reimi whipped up…," she whispered under her breath.

Faize Sheifa Beleth shook his head slightly when he noticed something dart past his feet and under the Recreation Room table, eyeing the ends of his cloak with great interest. He quickly identified the cat to be Meracle, a Lesser Fellpool, in her cat form. "Cats," a species native to Earth and Roak, had no equivalent Eldarian animal. If there ever had been a comparable domestic creature on Eldar, it was long extinct, unable to survive on the planet's harsh environment.

He had once read cats had a fetish for strings…not that such should really apply to one with at least near-human intelligence. Though the 'near human intelligence' was a rather harsh classification and observation, at times, it was rather perplexing that she was only two years his junior.

Her stopped, about to ascend the staircase, when the foul smell of something burning emanated from the item creation room. He frowned slightly; it wasn't the foul stench produced by burning or overheating machinery, but rather, a cooking endeavor turned disastrous. He was rather familiar with both, for any repair jobs attempted by Edge usually resulted in such, and any type of cooking Faize himself was forced to attempt usually ended similarly.

He turned around and walked over to the door, but as soon as it opened, a massive cloud of dark gray-black smoke billowed out. He walked down the hall, trying to breathe in as little of the smoke as possible, before reaching the second automatic door. He coughed as it slid open, unable to discern anything in the item creation room from the doorway.

"What is going _on_ in here? Is something on fire?" he questioned, despite knowing if there were any actual flames, the Calnus' systems should have reacted and extinguished it instantly.

"No!" a familiar, although irritated voice called back, speaking only loudly enough to be heard over the loud whirr of the laboring ventilation system. "Go away! I'm fine, 'kay?"

"Some batter dripped onto the bottom of the oven and burned, is all!" Welch reassured him as the smoke began to clear. "Now _out!"_

_Shouldn't Welch be __**preventing**__ accidents and messes?_

Faize frowned, feeling like a babysitter. Though if there had been any thought behind forcing him and Lymle to share a room, it was probably because she figured she needed strict supervision. The doors to the Recreation Room had remained open, and with the assistance of the ventilation systems in that room as well, the smoke was starting to clear. Meracle, still in her cat form, crept forward hesitantly and peered around his boots to see what was going on.

Welch's hologram appeared before him and she brandished her Poking Stick at him threateningly, but much to her apparent dismay, he didn't so much as flinch. He wasn't going to be fooled _twice_ by a holographic stick. He was about to object further to whatever was going on, but after a few moments of Welch's characteristic, indiscernible ranting, he just felt mildly impatient. In addition to her Poking Stick, she waved a book that read _"Absolute Boyfriend"_ on the cover for emphasis.

He took two steps backward, away from the irate hologram. By his third step out of the item creation room, he felt his foot land on something small and soft. Having no experience with dealing with small creatures that prowled the floors, he didn't think to move immediately. That something was apparently Meracle's tail, for the Lesser Fellpool let out a tormented, somewhat deafening, yowl.

Faize grimaced and quickly jumped away. "Sorry!" he exclaimed, despite lacking patience for the antics of all the teenage girls aboard the Calnus.

She swiped at his ankle, but only succeeded in getting her claws stuck in the synthetic material of his boots. She tried to pull away at the same moment he stepped backward, pulling the claw with him. She howled again in objection, claws thoroughly imbedded. Having no idea how to properly extract a cat's claws so they didn't break, he abruptly jerked his ankle away.

He stumbled backward as Meracle growled at him, but the air was still foggy, and he didn't notice his proximity to the row of consoles behind him. His foot caught on the back of a metal chair and he found himself falling gracelessly backward. He passed through Welch's hologram before his head impacted with the hard metal edge of the desk. A pang of throbbing pain momentarily blurred his vision before dark patches deluded his perception of the room.

One of Edge's most frequently used curse words sprung to his lips as he landed on the floor and his head connected with the metal back of the desk, and the pain struck again with renewed force. Not that it would have mattered if his usually eloquent style of speaking slipped after the fall; Welch's squealing would have rendered it indiscernible.

"Shame on you!" Welch yelled, "Passing right through a girl's hologram like that…you really _are_ a pervert, just as I suspected!"

He slumped against the back of the desk as her rant continuously worsened the ache in his pounding head. A cloud of white smoke appeared as Meracle returned to her human form and hurried over. Welch stopped shrieking and knelt down and glanced over at him a moment before his eyes drooped closed.

"Uh-oh," Welch muttered, voice suddenly serious. "He hit his head twice, didn't he? Did we knock him out?"

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Final Hikari: Standard disclaimers apply! Absolute Boyfriend, Soshi, and the lover figures are all property of Yuu Watase and her publishers. Gackt is…well, I suppose he's copyrighted to himself. XD Same goes for Ayumi Hamasaki, though Utada Hikaru is WAY better than her. Hershey's chocolate is also copyrighted to the Hershey company. Also, we are now selling Cerberus Slime! It comes in two colors, and five fun flavors! Pre-order the gallon container today for a discounted price!

Myuria: O.O What the _hell_ are you babbling about?

Final Hikari: I haven't the faintest idea. Anyway, try that recipe for cookies! It's one of my best. :D But it's really, really important to use the specific brands I mentioned and remember it's vital not to overcook. Cookies will be soft! But it really is _very_ important to use creamy, unsalted butter, not salted butter or margarine. Generic brand chocolates and cocoas won't make the cookies as good…and I honestly don't think anyone would use insect eggs, but I remembered they were an item in TLH, and decided to mention them. XD

Myuria: …Who is going to want to bake after all that talk of Cerberus Slime?

Faize: -winces slightly at the loud discussion and rubs head-

Final Hikari: -walks over with notebook in hand and a sweet but somewhat evil smile- How ya doing, Faize? :D This chapter was pretty hard on you. Do you need a hug? Or perhaps some ibuprofen? -evil smirk-

Faize: -blank stare- Some what…?

Final Hikari: …Earthling painkillers? XD

Faize: …Do they actually work? I've heard nothing good about Earthling medicine.

Final Hikari: XD Well, it's hard to say if they'd work on you, Alien Ears. They are made for human consumption after all. -whacks him lightly and casually, but in the specific situation, somewhat lethally on head with notebook-

Faize: -groans and holds head-

Final Hikari: Oops! -clearly rehearsed- You okay, Faizie?

Myuria: -shakes head- Children…


	6. Suspicion

Final Hikari: -slumped in desk, with ice pack on head-

Myuria: What happened to you?

Final Hikari: Karma is cruel.

Myuria: You don't have your glasses on, you're obviously not accomplishing anything. Get to work! The update is already late, you lazy authoress.

Final Hikari: X.X -sits up and waves ice pace for emphasis- Gimme a break! My head is killing me and my glasses are bent! -grimaces at pang of pain and returns to previous position-

Myuria: -smirk- So you hit your head.

Final Hikari: Yes. I hit my head thirty feet in the air on a metal pipe that sent my glasses askew. I saw dark spots and tiny little Calnuses, thank you very much.

Myuria: You had it coming after the last chapter.

Final Hikari: Phooey. I may have deserved it, but it was on my temple! I can't even grimace without making my head hurt! Thank goodness school's out or I'd be in agonizing pain!

Myuria: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Aroma of Love

Chapter V

Suspicion

"He hit his head _really_ hard," Meracle said concernedly. "Those desks are metal…"

"What are you two doing?" Lymle asked crossly, voice drifting nearer.

Meracle poked his cheek - with a clawed finger - but only succeeded in scratching him lightly, which lead to more admonishing from Welch. Lymle hurried over and also leaned over, peering at him along the other two expectantly. Another moment passed where they whispered amongst themselves before he opened his eyes blearily to find _three_ girls kneeling around him, staring.

Seeing as all three of them seemed to have something against him, it wasn't the most pleasant thing to wake up to. He would have pushed himself backward to increase the distance between him and the trio, but there was nowhere to go. Meracle was kneeling on his left side whereas Lymle stood on his right, too short to need to kneel, and Welch was kneeling _through_ his ankles, as she was merely holographic.

"Phew!" Meracle sighed, jumping to her feet. "He's awake! I'm outta here, meow!"

"Hey, cat, get back here!" Welch hollered, waving her shojo manga and poking stick for emphasis as she rose to her feet and chased after the Lesser Fellpool.

Once they were both a few feet away, he leaned forward, rubbing the back of his head with a grimace. There was a noticeable bump forming, but luckily no blood. His pride had probably sustained the most damaging injury. Perhaps it was a good thing any domestic animal reminiscent of a cat was extinct on Eldar…he couldn't recall ever tripping over a cat and his own feet so pathetically. Welch and Meracle's voices got louder as their argument continued, causing an unpleasant pang of pain to ring through his head.

"Are you okay? That looked like it hurt, 'kay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, slightly surprised by the uncharacteristically thoughtful question. However, the moment was quickly interrupted.

The First Officer of the SRF-003 Calnus, Reimi Saionji, marched in with a frown on her face and her hands on her hips. "What is going _on_ in here?" she demanded, looking as ill tempered as she did when she caught Edge up to no good.

The deplorable state of the room was no comforting sight, either; the kitchen area itself was a mess of spilled batter, flour, sugar, dripped chocolate, and forgotten chocolate chips that had fallen to the floor. Furthermore, it looked like - somehow- a very large bag of flour had exploded, for the light, white powder covered just about every surface imaginable.

Meracle and Welch jumped, each wearing guilty looks as she continued. "First the fire alarms go off, then the Recreation Room fills with smoke, there's yelling loud enough to penetrate sound proofed walls, and then I hear a really shrill scream. What are you girls up to?"

"She knocked him out!" the aforementioned blameworthy duo chorused, in almost perfect synchronicity.

Reimi's gaze moved to Faize, who was standing up and dusting flour off his clothes, looking slightly unsteady on his feet. It took her a moment to put two and two together, though it wasn't entirely surprising the shrill yell had been Faize's; his voice was known to get several decibels higher when he was surprised or indignant.

"That cat attacked him and tripped him so he hit his head! I am soooooo not liable if he has a concussion! No points can be put against my Master Item Creation License! Nope! None at all!" Welch ranted defensively.

"Welch started yelling first and tried to hit him over the head with that stick again!" Meracle retorted hastily. "And I didn't _attack_ anyone! He stepped on my tail, it was my feline reflexes reacting."

_'Again?' Who inform her of __**that**__? _Faize wondered with a slight frown, rubbing the back of his head. Welch and Meracle's argument raged on, only getting louder and more preposterous with every word. Reimi's expression, in turn, was getting increasingly impatient. She'd most likely be the one stuck having to clean up most of the mess, since Welch was holographic, Meracle would eat the supplies, and the group had learned quite a while ago Sarah was very clueless about the things her wings bumped into, thus spilling over the unlucky object - or person - beneath.

"I'm holographic, I can't really do anything to anyone!" Welch spun on her heel and smiled, trying to appear as the epitome on innocence. "How about it, Faizerino? Shall I send you a waiver to sign and we'll call this water under the bridge? Hmm? Hmmmm? This teensy-weensy little mistake doesn't have to be a big deal, right?"

"Don't tell me this is just the first accident you've ever caused…," he trailed off dryly, only getting a faint idea of what her unusual 'water under the bridge' phrase implored, though there wasn't much logic behind the sentiment.

Reimi glanced between the two girls, who were close to the same height, before shaking her head tiredly and glancing in Faize's direction. "Sorry about them. Are you okay?"

"I'm alright…I think," he replied flatly.

Reimi turned back to the destructive duo, who took a few instinctive steps back from the displeased First Officer, intent on scolding the two of them. He was about to turn around and head toward the exit, but a small hand grabbed a hold of his cloak. He looked down to see Lymle, wearing an expression that seemed concerned.

"Yes?" he questioned after a brief silence.

"…You're really bad at healing symbols, 'kay?" she began, earning only an unsurprised stare. "So…if you need to be healed, just ask, 'kay?"

Caught off guard by the suspiciously kind offer, he said the first thing that came to mind. "No thank you. It isn't serious," he dismissed, walking away as soon as her grip loosened.

She looked slightly disappointed as he departed while the others were distracted. It only occurred to his pain-addled mind that he hadn't found out what had been going on in the first place until the second automatic door closed behind him. He stopped momentarily and shook his head with an air of disgust, though a little too quickly, causing it to throb.

He started up the stairs to the second floor, inwardly wondering if all the female passengers had something against him. Welch used him as the victim of numerous cruel jokes - the warning of 'molting seasons' being the first of _many_. Meracle was too inattentive with her tail and more than frequently blamed him for being the one to step on it, Sarah's sheer lack of awareness with how the various devices of the Calnus were _not _made to have feathers jammed into them created endless repair jobs, and sly Myuria always sought to test her various concoctions on whoever was too unfamiliar with foreign dishes to notice a taste or color discrepancy once they were, by all definitions, poisoned.

That wasn't even mentioning Lymle… He cast a weary glance in the direction of the screen where the rooming settings were displayed, deciding not to even attempt making a mental list. It would grow far too long in a matter of seconds.

He walked into Cabin Two, paying little attention to the slightly too sweet scent that permeated throughout the room. He sat down on the edge of the bed tiredly, gaze dropping to the floor as he inwardly wondered what sort of havoc she was wreaking. _She's probably trying to poison me…_

Thoughts still grim, he reached over to the desk and lifted his scanner off the mainly paint free surface. He activated the device, inwardly thinking that since it was connected to the Calnus' detectors, it would probably be able to identify the composition of what had yielding the clouds of smoke from the Item Creation Room.

He waited as it loaded, though rather slowly; there was a drop of paint on it that seemed to interfere with its functions. The display wasn't working properly, either. He stared at the holographic screen for a moment before looking through the translucent portion of it and noticing something was different. He would have realized it immediately, but his throbbing head slowed his reaction time.

_…There's no dividing line. It's gone._ The rather unpleasant mental image of Cerberus slobbering on the floor made him grimace slightly. He stood up and reached out attentively, seeing if the absence of the line of symbol paint going down the middle of the room - though it had been off to the side, giving her far more space - also meant the ward had been taken down.

She'd rigged it so a slight electric shock would be dealt to the unwanted person when they attempted crossing over into her side of the room. As far as he knew, he was the only person it was set to repel.

He reached past where it had once been, surprised to feel no jolt of electricity momentarily paralyzing his fingertips. He noticed, although only passively, that the sweet aroma intensified on her side of the room. He dismissed it as some sort of perfume. After all, it wouldn't have been very odd for a girl to posses such items. _Not that she's ever acted like a normal child __**or**__ teenager…_

_…Though perhaps if she acted and looked about ten years older, she'd probably be-_

He didn't finish the thought before shaking his head abruptly in horror. "That is _it, _I must have a concussion," he mumbled, struggling to dismiss the thought. "I'm not thinking straight…I would never think such a thing."

The scanner in his hand beeped when it finished its activation. He looked at the fuzzy screen, barely able to discern the text on the screen. It faded in and out, but he managed to determine it to be inspecting the composition of the air in the room. _Another malfunction…?_

The screen then revealed the results and depicted a list of ingredients and the directions for a recipe. He waited for the rest of the data to appear, watching as the image loaded and the blur over the item's name faded. He blinked once in surprise, then twice in revulsion. The image of a potion in a crystalline bottle emanating bright pink smoke appeared. The image was innocent enough, but the item's disturbingly familiar name was the alarming aspect of the results.

_Ship furnishing (small sized.) A perfume with a dangerous scent that causes those who catch a whiff of it to fall madly in love._

He read the name of the concoction aloud, suddenly understanding what trouble was afoot. "'Aroma of Love'?"

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Final Hikari: O.O Kyaaaaa!

Myuria: How often are you going to say that? -.-

Final Hikari: -holds head- -stares at guide books with horrified look- That's more than karma! That's…not…right!

Myuria: -blank stare- No one has any idea what you're talking about.

Final Hikari: -points at wall where a wooden shelf is hanging upside down by severely bent brackets- My SHELF! It collapsed and everything landed on my bed, including sixty pounds of guide books where my head was twenty minutes before it fell!!! MY SHELF!

Myuria: …I take it you keep your video games on said shelf?

Final Hikari: -nods impatiently- Yes! My sacred several hundred, if not more, dollar collection!

Myuria: -snicker- Maybe new. All that isn't worth a fraction of what it used to be if it's all open…

Final Hikari: There was no damage to anything but an old Cardcaptor Sakura DVD, thankfully. T.T It all landed on my bed, so not even the discs popped out of their holders. But goodness. -stares at guide books- They could have given _me_ a concussion! At least!

Myuria: 'Only damage?' What about the hole in the wall?

Final Hikari: XD Oh, you mean where the corner of the shelf hit? It's just the wall, it can be spackled and painted. Paint covers a multitude of sins! But my FFVIII guidebook was pretty much destroyed…that was the guide I had on top of the stack. Thank god that was the sacrificial lamb instead of the FFVII guide below it or the Xenosaga guides below that. O…O I now see why people hate those huge, 300 page gamer bibles. DX Wah…


	7. A Mess To Be Remembered

Final Hikari: An update! Thank goodness. T.T

Myuria: Though you're still terribly behind…

Final Hikari: XD I have trouble juggling school and three part time jobs. The only good thing is that my job is generally online and I can slack off writing fan fiction in notebooks.

Myuria: …That's a terrible work ethic. -.-

Final Hikari: And, at heart, I'm a terrible worker. So let's just this chapter on the road!

Myuria: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: But I'm putting my foot down and saying the storyline is _mine!_ -waves a stolen Poking Stick to defend plotline-

Myuria: -shakes head, disgusted-

Aroma of Love

Chapter VI

A Mess To Be Remembered

Having dismissed Welch and Meracle from the Item Creation room, Reimi Saionji looked around the room with a grim expression. It was a complete mess; far worse than anything she could ever remember seeing on Earth. Even her memories of home economics class, especially the cooking segment, filled with about thirty girls less than ten years old, couldn't match what stretched on before her.

Flour, chocolate, sugar, cocoa, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, and a rainbow of other baking ingredients had somehow managed to cover ever available surface. The two computer consoles closest to the platform had faired particularly badly; they keyboards were buried in sweet powders. Little fingerprints immortalized with chocolate were on ever surface within the young Lemurisian's reach.

Not to mention all the aforementioned supplies even managed to find themselves on the walls, even above her small stature.

Reimi didn't want to think about cleaning the finer white powders out of every single crack and crevice in the entire room… She'd have to recruit quite a bit of help for that cleanup job. The unpleasant odor from the burned cookie dough still lingered in the room; the ventilation systems had yet to completely purify the smell.

Lymle, looking slightly guilty at having created such a hellacious mess, sat patiently on the edge of the platform, waiting to see what the Calnus' First Officer would say. Reimi turned around, opening her mouth to scold the small child, but stopped when she saw the innocent look worn on her six-year-old face. She met the young Lemurisian's gaze for a moment, irritation deflating as her shoulders fell.

How could she be heartless enough to scold such a cute face?

_…Though she must've used the exact same look to get away with never being reprimanded back on Lemuris…_

Reimi heaved a heavy sigh, shaking hear head slightly. It was all too difficult to discipline her. "Lym, just what were you trying to make?"

"…Cookies," she admitted reluctantly.

Reimi leaned against the opposite terminal, waiting to see if she'd volunteer more information. She looked down to find her arm and side covered in flour and chocolate on the side of her previous pristine white glove and straightened with a grimace.

After another moment of silence passed, and Lymle did nothing of the sort, she asked another question. "Why didn't you just ask for my help if you wanted cookies?"

"I wasn't making them for myself, 'kay?" she retorted, a bit quickly.

The older of the two girls arched an eyebrow questioningly. "Alright…but I would have gladly helped either way, you know. You just have to ask, making time isn't a problem. I'm never to busy."

"I…I wanted to make them all by myself."

"Why?" she asked blankly, a trace of impatience in her voice.

"I just did, 'kay? I wanted to do it myself."

She was about to question the young Lemurisian further, when I thought dawned upon her; _"Love potions of any kind are usually most potent on teenage girls. Perhaps it will be interesting to see how this goes."_ She smirked slightly at the moment of realization, inwardly wondering if he love potion had really taken such a dramatic effect.

_Yes!_

"I don't know…," Reimi trailed off, walking over to the main item creation console where her recipe was displayed. "This all seems rather suspicious."

Lymle fidgeted uncomfortably. "Why?" she echoed reluctantly.

"I suppose you weren't trying to make cookies for a particular _someone?_" she drawled knowingly, leaning against the platform this time. Luckily, her uniform came off unscathed…well, at least whatever flour and sugar clung to her attire wasn't noticeable atop the previous mess.

"O-of course not, 'kay?"

"You can tell, I wouldn't say anything to anyone else…," she continued, very clearly enjoying herself.

Lymle mumbled an indescribable response as she looked away.

"What was that?" Reimi asked brightly as she peered at child's expression. "Hmm?"

Another few moments of awkward silence passed before she finally said his name.

"Faize," she admitted unhappily.

_Success!_

Reimi was about to grin, but remembered to be discreet - and make sure it really _was_ her potion at work; the other option would be far more characteristic for Lymle. "You aren't trying to poison him, are you?"

"No…but Welchie asked the same thing, 'kay?" Lymle added, note notably bothered. "She said to use insect eggs instead of normal eggs to poison someone…"

Reimi smiled, barely hearing the repulsive thought of insect eggs in cookies. "Wonderful! I'll help clean up so you can start the next batch."

"But I wanna make them myself, 'kay?" she retorted stubbornly.

"You will, I'll just help with the side work," Reimi explained brightly. _And cleanup…_ "You have to be careful not to make the cookies too big or too close together, or else it'll all drip off like this batch then. That makes it end up on the bottom of the oven and then it burns."

Lymle looked at her, a bit confused. "But I thought you cook the dough all at once then use cookie cutters."

Inwardly remembering when she and Welch had a disagreement about the hope of improving Lymle's cooking, and when latter had said it was a futile endeavor, she could all but hear her saying 'I told you so.'

"No…," Reimi trailed off. "You roll the dough into balls or drop it by the teaspoon."

"How do you know when to do which?" she questioned, with a slight frown.

Reimi shook her head. "I'll teach you. But before that, we both need aprons. I bought you the cutest little pink one back on Roak."

It was clear on her face she was thinking Reimi, at times, saw her as a dress up doll, Lymle simply nodded blankly.

* * *

Final Hikari: It was so short! Ohnoes! But I wanted to post so you all didn't think I was abducted by aliens or something. XD Thank goodness Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is coming out soon. T.T I need a reason to be a zombie for a few weeks and play like a madwoman! XD

Myuria: You're always doing everything like a madwoman… -.-

Final Hikari: -sweat drop- True.

Myuria: -sips at a drink- How many more chapters are left?

Final Hikari: Mmm, a few, actually. I really can't wait to write the interactions between Faize and Myuria. :D Poor Faize has barely started to be tormented.


	8. Interlude

Final Hikari: New chapter! See? The author wasn't abducted by aliens. XD Though that would be pretty nice if they were as good looking as Faize and Arumat…

Myuria: -once again at the Calnus' bar- This 'beer' you Earthlings have is disgusting…

Final Hikari: A lot of the taste depends on the brand with beer. The expensive stuff is supposedly good.

Myuria: -smirk- I thought you didn't drink.

Final Hikari: XD I've been to sporting events. Need I say more?

Myuria: …What?

Final Hikari: … …I don't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Aroma of Love

Chapter VII

Interlude

Captain Edge Maverick of the SRF-003 Calnus drummed his fingers against the metal surface surrounding the ship's master terminal. It was undoubtedly the easiest to use, since once his passwords (frequently words would _not_ have chosen if he had known children like Lymle and Meracle would constantly be peering over his shoulder when he typed) were entered, there were no more security prompts.

_They really shouldn't show the passwords as characters, anyway, even if it is the captain's computer… Then again, they did design the ship to make the primary control unit rather isolated…and they didn't expect Lesser Fellpool to be jumping around all the time…_

When he was first appointed captain of the Calnus, he'd been determined to learn how to do every task required to keep the ship going - although he had managed to learn the majority of them, there was still a notable hindrance he'd encountered all too often.

It was that when anyone got _too_ deep into program configurations, much of the text was still in Eldarian, unable to be translated by the automatic onboard systems. Subsequently, since the language wasn't like anything from Earth, it was hopeless to try to learn on such short notice.

Never mind the fact Faize was already proficient in three or four Earthling languages.

However, he seldom spent more than a couple of hours a day at the console. Faize, Bacchus, and Reimi usually had everything done by eight or nine in the morning. Faize, the co-pilot, took care of all flight coordinates and route programming. Bacchus, the navigator took care of all the ship's settings and statuses. He also oversaw the maintenance.

Myuria wasn't particularly interested in helping during flights, since she usually used her time on the computers to send emails to people she knew on En II. Sarah was also seated at one of the consoles, but it was all they could do to keep her from pressing any of the buttons. After a few rather hazardous incidents, Faize had locked all the commands from that console to be ignored.

_There was that one time she leaned on some of the buttons on her elbow and nearly deployed the landing equipment during a warp…_

Out of all the extraterrestrials from underdeveloped planets aboard the Calnus, though Lymle was close behind her, Sarah had managed to cause the most trouble. Not that it stopped anyone from befriending her though, since she did always mean well. (Even when the results were disastrous.)

_One of the landing feet got disintegrated when it got too close to the column wall…_

Much to Edge's inconvenience, Reimi had been unusually elusive since planting the Aroma of Love. He'd only seen Faize briefly before the fire alarms went off and Reimi told him it was a false alarm. Inwardly wondering what sort of love-potion-induced trouble was afoot, and more distantly wondering how a ship full of women was so frustrating, the answer with a sore tail came pouncing through the automatic sliding doors.

"Edge!" Meracle called out, ears drooping and voice unhappy.

He jumped slightly and hurriedly pressed the enter key to clear the screen of the _extremely _inappropriate password before she reached him.

"Is something wrong, Meracle?" he questioned, voice balanced and cheerful as it always was when he addressed children, or youngsters in general, despite the close call.

"_Edge!_" she repeated, louder, and with a frown. "Faize stepped on my tail! Really hard, too."

Glancing momentarily at the rapidly moving purple appendage, he decided to take the sensible manner of approach and only silently feel bad for their Eldarian crewmen - he wasn't very popular with the girls on the ship. "How did it happen?"

She blinked, apparently expecting more sympathy. "Um…well…," she trailed off, sounding more than a little guilty, having hoped he wouldn't ask. "He never looks down when he walks and those awful boots really hurt my tail!"

"I see. You know he didn't do it on purpose, though," Edge replied, casually reaching out to ruffle her hair. "But where is Faize?"

"Erm…eh heh heh…," Meracle paused, still waiting for her unconditional sympathy, though it did note come. "Well…it was all Welch's fault! I totally didn't give him a concussion! Meow!"

Edge blinked once, expression blank. "Welch did _what_?" he echoed, somehow unsurprised.

* * *

Final Hikari: I'll leave Edge's passwords to your imaginations. XD I'm sure if I favor the curse words in foreign languages, Edge's would be atrocious; not the kind of thing that belongs in a T rated fic. -snicker-

Myuria: You're really drawing all of this out…

Final Hikari: Well, it makes it fun for the readers, right? XD Anyway, my upcoming short story Teenkeeper and the SO4 school AU requested by MAY4 will be two projects of 2010! There will be a crap load of oneshots too, of course. Hopefully the alternate scenarios of TLH International will inspire much life in this section! :D

Myuria: Quite an optimist.

Final Hikari: It's either that or complain about work. XD And more importantly, TLH needs more if not just as much love as TTEOT. -shifty eyes- It's too excellent of a game. And, yes, you read 'column wall,' a poorly hidden Xenosaga term. XD


	9. A Swift Escape

Myuria: How many chapters are you stretching this story for?

Final Hikari: It's shaping up to be close to ten, though they've gotten a bit shorter. XD

Myuria: You should feel some shame for making your readers wait so long.

Final Hikari: Yes, indeed I should, but I'm busy listening to promiscuous Utada Hikaru songs at the moment. XD She was so amazing to see live…! -absolutely no attention span-

Myuria: …You're annoying the readers.

Final Hikari: And I still don't own a damn thing from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Aroma of Love

Chapter VIII

A Swift Escape

Reimi Saionji jogged up the stairs and into the residential floor, proud of the success - although it was leading to some _very_ out of character behavior caused by the Aroma of Love. She hesitated a moment, inwardly wondering if the apron she'd purchased was still on the surface layer of Lymle's many disorganized piles.

She'd never successfully gotten the stubborn girl to wear any of the cut outfits she'd gotten at the various places they visited. It was rather frustrating.

_Not to mention that time she 'accidentally' lit an entire drawer full of expensive dresses and outfits I got her…she said it happened when some embers off Cerberus' tail fell in the half open drawer. But with all the soot and ash in there it looked more like she set a Fire Bolt off… It wouldn't be unusual for her to do something radical like that as an excuse not to do something she doesn't want to…_

Faize was most likely resting - if she was careful, she could probably get in and out without mishap.

_And if he is still awake, he should really go see Sarah so she can heal him… She does know more healing symbols than anyone else, if I remember correctly…_

_ Though it is pretty scary to put your health in Sarah's hands…_

_ Or maybe butter fingers…_

She shook her head slightly to dismiss the thought. She walked up to the door and knocked gently, waiting for a response, but hoping she wouldn't receive one.

To her disappointment, she had no such luck.

"Yes?" a familiar, though oddly impatient sounding voice responded.

"Hey!" Reimi greeted cheerfully as she walked n the door. "How's your head?" she asked simply, somewhat surprised to standing to see him standing in the middle of the room with a small device projecting a holographic display in hand. More so, it was surprising he'd even made it to the middle of the room - perhaps Lymle had disenchanted the divider, since the room had been rather lopsidedly separated before. "Did those two really give you a concussion?"

"It isn't serious," he replied dismissively, gaze returning to the small device in his hand.

The screen looked fuzzy, even at the distance of several feet away. The small device producing the hologram had chipped paint encrusted in all the buttons, which was most likely the cause of the malfunction. She didn't doubt the chipping as the result of failed attempts to remove the symbol paint with various chemicals that were supposed to remove traditional paint.

Caught off guard by the dismissive response, she took a step closer to him and peered at the screen curiously. "What's that?" she asked politely.

"It's a scanner meant to analyze components and chemicals present in the air or atmosphere. It can be connected to any ship's primary consoles to save data on a planet's air, but its maid for indoor or on ship use, as well," he explained, holding it out to her so she could read the screen. "As you can see, it no longer works properly since Lymle submersed it in paint."

She glanced over the text, but was unable to recognize even one character. The Eldarian language was a complex one, from everything o the structure of sentences to the word formation. Giving up on reading it, her eyes fell to the small identification picture. That, much to her dismay, was _very_ familiar. Her eyes widened slightly as she almost paled at the sight of the Aroma of Love.

_He knows about it?!_

_ I'm in so much trouble…_

She caught herself before her expression alone incriminated herself. "What's that?" she asked simply, handing the device back to him.

_Unless I can sneak my way out of this…_

"It's called an 'Aroma of Love,'" he said, saying the name distastefully. "It is in the database from the item creation recipe I can't in pinpoint this…things location since the scanner isn't working properly. However, it's definitely in the close vicinity."

"How strange," Reimi remarked, though her poorly hidden guilty expression betrayed quite a lot. "Maybe Myuria made one. She has all kinds of concoctions stored in her room. Some of the names are quite inappropriate so I told her not to leave them lying around the Item Creation area."

"It's somewhere in _this_ room," he retorted, meeting her gaze evenly. "What makes you consider Myuria to be the culprit behind this?"

"Oh, well, I have no idea," Reimi replied with a nervous laugh. "It's just that it's a compounding item, right? She's the best with that type of item…"

"Reimi, do you honestly have no affiliation to this?" he asked crossly.

"What makes you say that? You know I could never make an item like that on my own, I'm just a cook…," she railed off, taking a step toward the door.

"I do not mean to sound rude, but your elusive behavior is rather suspicious," Faize reasoned, voice flat.

"W-well, if you're worried, why not go ask Myuria about it? Or maybe Welch?" They'd probably know something, since Welch must have overseen its production and all."

"…I doubt asking Welch would be the wisest idea," he said after a brief pause. "If I may ask, what did you come in here for?"

"Uh, I bought Lymle a cute little pink apron back on Roak," she explained, coming up with a quick lie, as the garment in question was most likely in the same drawer as the Aroma of Love. Even malfunctioning, she figured his censor would be able to pinpoint the potion if it was released into the open air. "But I just remembered that I kept it in my room so she didn't get paint on it…or light it on fire."

She was indeed a horrible liar.

Before he had the chance to get a word in edgewise, she continued to ramble on. "So I'd better get going, I won't keep pestering you. You might want to have Sarah examine your head f I still hurts," she added helpfully, not stopping to think what a sorry day it would be when Sarah preformed head examinations. "See you later!"

She disappeared out the door and down the hall, not even trying to keep to her story and checking the room she shared with Edge. After all, she knew for a fact it wasn't in there. She hurried down the stairs, not bothering to say hello to Ying and Yang as she went past. Sarah was preoccupied with the treadmill and Meracle was too distracted staring at Sarah's wings to notice as Reimi returned to the item creation room.

_That was very close…far too close for comfort._

_Maybe Edge was right about hiding it better…I really didn't think he'd find it this fast…_

The first of the automatic doors that lead into the dividing hallway side open noticeably slower than it usually did. When she passed under it, a sprinkling of brown sugar landed on her head. She grimaced and turned around to stare at the area around the top of the door, confused and stunned to see the dark, molasses soaked sugar to be caked around the top.

How in Earth (or perhaps Lemuris) did a young girl less than four feet tall get sugar way up _there?_

She shook her head, party in disgust, but mainly to shake the sugar out of her hair.

_At least Lymle's still blissfully unaware of it…for now, at least._

* * *

Myuria Tionysus stood on a step ladder to reach the storage compartment near the ceiling between the bed and desk on her side of the room. (Have fun picturing the view from the other bed, fan boys.) She was currently sharing the room with Bacchus - she pitied his wife, even if he did 'disable his optical censors.' They planned to have her share the room with Sarah, since the tension in the room she shared with Meracle was creating a loss of sleep.

She hummed an Earthling song from the year 2009 A.D. to herself as she organized all the potions stored there. She'd gotten it from Reimi's severely neglected base of vintage music.

_"I know you've thought about it, but it's all in your head," _she sang to herself pleasantly. _"And you can't wait to see me, to see me in the flesh. I see you really need to get this thing off your chest, but you know I gotta get you back in my nest…"_

She had been procrastinating on organizing her love potions, perfumes, dyes, and other random concoctions for a few days; however, the lengthy trip to Aeos ended up yielding more than enough time to go through them. She kept them all in an air tight storage compartment for a reason, as they were all very, _very_ potent.

One entertaining recipe she'd recently perfected and was stocking up on was her Love Perfume No. 690. It had the same effect as the Love Potion No. 256 (or the banned Love Potion No. 356) and came in several intensities. It was always entertaining to see how they effected the ship full of - save herself and Bacchus - teenagers.

Even though Edge was technically twenty-one, he still fell into the later category.

* * *

Myuria: -frown- What was the purpose of that last scene? I refuse to flirt with any fan boys unless I deem them worthy. And you made it utterly impossible for them to keep even halfway pure thoughts with the comments and lyrics.

Final Hikari: Bah. I get paid (although well) to write so much worse. -sob- And besides, this is the fate you were doomed to this fate the moment your husband died and you started dressing like a hooker. XD -ducks the bricks, flames, etc of fans- Kidding! I was only kidding! T.T

Myuria: And the disclaimer?

Final Hikari: 'Dirty Desire' is © to Utada Hikaru. Since it's only a few lines and not the complete song, it's completely legal to quote. XD If you would like to talk to one of my wonderful friends who is very savvy with copyrights, go right ahead and ask for the link. -starts to sing terribly- '_When I'm alone at night, I sit and fanaticize. And in my fantasies I love you long tonight. During my nine to five, I'm thinking six and nine. I've gotta make you mine.'_


	10. Nightmares

Final Hikari: How much more insanity remains to play out in this story? XD Quite a bit! Not to spoil anything, but suggestions on what Lymle does to Reimi after she finds out about the Aroma of Love are welcome. -waggles eyebrows-

Myuria: Although you're trying to make the readers feel important by encouraging their participation in the story, some of us realize you're just not figuring it out yourself.

Final Hikari: Ouch. XD You make it sound like I have ulterior motives behind everything!

Myuria: Haven't you heard the saying? 'Never trust a fan fiction author when they say they'll update soon.'

Final Hikari: XDDDD Well, unlike us writers, at least the stamp doesn't lie. And I'm not any closer to owning anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope than I was in the first chapter. Grim chapter title is grim, and whacky formatting errors on DA and are whacky. DX

Aroma of Love

Chapter IX

Nightmares

_The only word to describe the location in which Faize Sheifa Beleth found himself was 'dystopian.' It was anything but pleasant, though somehow it still felt vaguely familiar to him. The cold stone ground beneath his feet was decorated with intricate carvings that reminded him faintly of the Purgatorium on Roak. They were contained in different tiles, divided by thin, smooth lines. The structure looked somewhat fragile, as though it was going to break apart if it bore too great a burden._

_ Massive, semi-ovular structures with even more detailed engravings and designs were suspended in midair beyond the platform. They gave off an eerie glow, something between gold and white in color. They weren't connected to the platform or anything else around the structure._

_ There was only a long path behind him that stretched back toward the door. The tall door was closed tightly, most likely locked, but there was nothing behind it. It led into vast, empty space._

_ As far as the eye could see, darkness was prevalent. Small, silvery particles provided faint illumination that made them visible, even in the distance. There was no horizon or any semblance of nature to distract from the area's sinister aura. It was void of celestial sources of light; there was only interminable nothingness._

_ On the far end of the platform, a tall figure wearing an extravagant suit of black armor sat on the throne. The numerous structures that stemmed out from the throne had an almost ethereal feeling, though they were very much real. The man in the throne had dark, almost glowing red eyes. His face was hidden behind a mask._

_ A long crimson sword that seemed to pulse in a rhythmic fashion, almost like a heartbeat, was at his right side. The weapon looked as though it were ready to be drawn in a moment's notice, though the position betrayed the man as left-handed._

_ The figure stood up wordlessly, his black cloak falling to the floor behind him. He didn't take a step forward or volunteer any information as he lifted his arm and stretched his hand toward the young Eldarian. He reached out to Faize, expression hidden behind the dark mask. As blood red eyes met violet, everything was plunged into perpetual darkness._

Faize Sheifa Beleth woke up abruptly, his wide open and his fists clenching the bed sheets tightly. His breathing was fast and shallow, his body still completely tense from the nightmares. His eyes glowed an ominous bright red, the same color as the masked figure's. He was rattled by the all too realistic vividness of the dream; he couldn't shake the image of the dark knight.

It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. All he saw was the ceiling of the Calnus, as anticipated. He closed his eyes momentarily as he sat up, trying to calm his nerves and dismiss the unsettling crimson glow. He glanced over to the computer screen to see the time, then to the empty bed on the opposite of the room.

_I suppose she's still watching movies with Reimi and Meracle…it's still fairly early. They're probably out there getting all teary when those clichéd royal animated characters get their happy ending…_

_ It's a pity such things exist only in vintage Earthling movies…_

_ Such could never happen in reality…_

A slight frown came over his face as a fleeting memory of _her_ passed through his mind, until his gaze fell to a small package on his computer desk. He rose to his feet and walked over, inwardly wondering what it was. If Lymle had anything to do with it, he would have to expect the worst. EX only knows what sort of trick she could have planted for him; in his mind, no amount of love potion corruption could completely erase all wariness of her mischievousness.

He turned the room's lights on and sat down at the desk, surprise to see a cellophane package of cookies resting on the desk. The transparent material was tinted pink in color. It was sealed with a bow, although it was small and sloppily tied; almost undoubtedly Lymle's handiwork. He examined the package to ensure there weren't any traps set before he stated to open it.

They looked like normal, safe cookies - not dog biscuits enchanted to suddenly lure Cerberus out to pounce on him, or something even worse. There was always the possibility of poison, as he wouldn't put it past her to 'accidentally' slip insect eggs instead of chicken eggs into the recipe.

The package fell open and he eyed the cookies, inwardly thinking they definitely weren't made by Reimi. Some of them were burnt, others had crumbled edges, and a few were broken. It looked to be Reimi's recipe, but that was where the similarity ended. Despite some of the differences in appearance, they still looked good. They seemed to be more than edible, at the least.

_Could she really have made these herself..?_

As soon as the thought passed through his mind, it all fell together. The idea of Lymle trying to make cookies on her own - even if under a love potion's influence - would explain all of that day's incidents. That would also mean that Welch had helped; so it was likely they weren't poisonous.

Or at least he hoped the otaku of an item creation expert wouldn't encourage poisoning.

(Somewhere amongst a towering stack of manga in an underground settlement on Earth, Welch Vineyard sneezed.)

He picked up one of the less crispy, misshaped cookies and took a bite. Not only did the flavor seem free of common poisons, it actually tasted quite good. Despite the outwardly unpleasing appearance, the chocolaty taste showed how much effort she must have put into it. He reached for another, inwardly thinking even if she wasn't herself, he'd still have to thank her for the present.

As predicted by an Eldarian's spot-on calculations, Reimi and Meracle were both tearing up at the end of the vintage movie playing on the Calnus' main monitor that rose from the floor of the Recreation Room. Sarah was confusedly (yes, that is indeed a word, go look it up in the dictionary for a fun surprise) asking why the prince was going to kiss the princess, since it would make more sense to use symbology to wake her up. Or in the words of kindhearted but oblivious Sarah herself, 'a nice bucketful of cold water, but oh my, salt water leaves a person so sticky!'

Needless to say, Reimi and Meracle both had to 'shh!' her throughout the entire movie and promise to explain later.

Randomly thinking the 'handsome' prince in the movie would look much better with a more unique hair color, perhaps green, and having no idea how proud Myuria would be to have heard that thought, Lymle sighed. The other girls at the table didn't notice her dissatisfaction, since even at the saddest or happiest moment in a movie, Lymle's expression didn't change.

She stared at the large bowl of popcorn on the table, along with the small plate of extra cookies that didn't fit into the gift bag. There had been several batches that were just thrown away since they were little more than lumps of ash. They were more burnt than what she'd given to Faize, and even Meracle didn't show much interest in them.

When a glutinous feline didn't scarf them all down in minutes, it said something rather bad about a person's cooking ability.

Faize had never been a picky eater, but seeing as he probably suspected her of poisoning him more than Reimi and Welch had, there was a chance he would have thrown them away without trying them. She could understand getting rid of them _after_ eating one, even though she'd found the best, least burnt ones to give him.

After the final scene of the movie faded to black and the credits started to roll, the lights in the Recreation Room all turned on and returned to their normal brightness. Meracle jumped to her feet and stretched, glad she didn't have to sit still any longer. Reimi started gathering the small snack plates on the table, glancing over at Sarah. The Featherfolk's expression was one of great concentration, something that was unusual for her.

"I got it!" Sarah exclaimed triumphantly, drawing the attention of the three other girls to herself. "All those people who have their names on the screen are single women who read lots of romance novels! That's why the princess had to be woken up with a kiss rather than a loud noise or a bucket of water!"

Reimi blinked for a moment, surprised by the sudden outburst. "You know, you're probably right."

"Really?" Sarah asked brightly. "I was right?"

"That does make sense," Meracle agreed with a cheerful nod.

Bacchus and Faize would probably cringe at the shaky logic the threesome were using. Nevertheless, Sarah seemed quite pleased with her revelation. Meracle hopped over to help Reimi with the dishes and the twosome disappeared into the item creation room. One of the hatches that popped out of the wall contained a dishwasher inside. Most of the others were for storage or housed other similar appliances.

Lymle lifted one of the broken cookies and examined it with a slight frown. The change in her expression was almost impossible to discern, even as she looked at the burnt underside of the cookie. She popped it into her mouth, inwardly wondering if the vast amount of chocolate chips were the cookies' sole saving grace. She had more than tripled the amount recommended by the recipe. She was about to reach for another cookie when she heard footsteps on the stairs behind her.

She was surprised to see none other than their Eldarian crewman himself coming down the stairs.

"What do you want?" she asked abruptly.

"Good evening to you too, Lymle," he said pleasantly, glancing over at Sarah.

Although the goodness of her heart could not be matched, Sarah wasn't the most sensible member of the Calnus' crew. Such was reflected as she stared off into space with a determined expression and counted aloud. The Demon King only knows what she could possible be counting with such concentration. Deciding he didn't want to even ask, Faize walked over to the table and motion toward the large plate of cookies.

"You made all of these yourself, correct?" he questioned.

"…Maybe. I don't have to tell you that, 'kay?" she retorted, half expecting him to ask if they were poisoned.

Instead, he smiled at her warmly. "You did a very good job with them. Thank you, Lymle."

She blushed as her gaze fell to the cookies, though she was oblivious to the fact that the uncharacteristic reaction was caused by a love potion. "But they're all crumbly and kinda burnt."

"They taste excellent though," he said with a nod.

Her gaze remained downward. "Well…you're welcome, 'kay?"

Neither of them noticed Reimi peering down the hallway from the Item Creation room with a rather satisfied evil smirk. Her mind was undoubtedly reeling with curiosity at why he was humoring the unusual behavior, but it didn't change her approval of the situation. However, the sweet moment was short lived.

"I was right!" Sarah exclaimed cheerfully. "There were a whole ton of girl's names in those credits. There were many more women involved than men."

Faize blinked once, clearly having no idea what the significance of Sarah's words was. He glanced at the logo of the old Earthling entertainment company on the screen, and then at Lymle. The young Lemurisian just shrugged and decided to go with the simplest answer possible. Even if she did explain, Faize would probably come up with a ridiculously complicated analysis and some sort of medicine with an unbelievably long name that would have woken the princess up, since a kiss didn't have any healing powers in reality.

"You don't wanna know, 'kay?"

Final Hikari: -snuggles shiny Bose iPod dock-

Myuria: …Right. Well, it looks like the author lost another fragment of sanity, so let's not dwell here.

Final Hikari: Next chapter shall be out very soon! :D Rude commissioners who harass me several times a day and pay slowly will be taking a backseat. XD

Myuria: And?

Final Hikari: And revenge suggestions for Lymle against Reimi and Welch are welcome! XD Thanks for reading and sticking with me for so long, everyone! The coming chapters won't disappoint!


End file.
